China marks muted 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary – An actor playing China's former leader Mao Zedong waves as people gather in China's central province of Hunan on December 24 to celebrate Mao's 120th anniversary today. These photos show how the country prepares to commemorate his birthday and how he is remembered in China.

China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary – An elderly woman holds a bronze statue of China's former leader Mao Zedong as she makes her way in China's central province of Hunan on December 24, joining others in celebrating Mao's 120th anniversary this week.

China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary – A gold and jade statue of Mao Zedong marks his 120th anniversary at an exhibition in Shenzhen in Southern China on December 13. The statue, is said to be worth more than $16 million.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

This picture taken on November 26 shows workers cleaning a statue of Mao Zedong still under construction in central China's Hunan province, ahead of the 120th anniversary of Mao's birth.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

Tourists visit the statue of Mao Zedong ahead of his 120th birthday.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

This picture taken on April 24 shows workers caving a Chairman Mao sculpture with sea salt in East China's Shandong province.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

This photo taken last year shows Little Red Books containing the thoughts of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong at Fan Jianchuan's Cultural Revolution museum near Chengdu, in Sichuan province.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

A woman admires an artwork by Joe Black of Mao Zedong entitled, 'Workers of the World, Unite!', which is made from 9000 hand-painted toy soldiers, in the Opera Gallery on October 14.

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

This photo taken last year shows Mao Zedong memorabilia at a museum

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Photos:China celebrates Mao's 120th anniversary

Statues of former leader Mao Zedong and figurines depicting moments in China's political history are displayed for sale at the Panjiayuan market in Beijing last year.

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Story highlights

Mao Zedong's 120th anniversary in China is more muted

Chinese have mixed feelings on Mao's legacy

Mao's mistakes have been publicized through books and pronouncements

The mood at the 120th anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong's birthday is relatively muted, by Chinese standards.

No spectacular fireworks, no big parades, as would have been expected during Mao's three-decade rule. But the Chinese remembered Mao properly.

Chinese president and Communist party chief Xi Jinping attended the 9 a.m. ceremony along with China's top leaders.

More elaborate rituals were conducted in Mao's hometown of Hunan province.

"There have been big meetings and academic symposiums discussing Chairman Mao's life and achievements," said a retired cadre in Hunan, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media. "In (Mao's birthplace) Shaoshan, they reopened the just refurbished Chairman Mao museum. Tourists from all over China are also flocking in to visit his birthplace. Chairman Mao's relatives are also in Shaoshan to take part."

Many Chinese still admire Mao and most of his policies. They are considered "leftists" or conservatives because they oppose liberal-thinkers and reformists who in China are deemed rightists.

Xiong Bao, 25, believes the celebration is necessary. "As the founding father, I think he deserves this, but I don't think it's necessary to make it too big," he said. "Nowadays, the whole nation is calling for thrift, so it's fine as long as it's low key."

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Even though he was born after Mao's death, Xiong says he has read Mao's writings extensively. "I respect his thought. It was his advanced thoughts that enabled the Chinese to win the revolution," he said.

For decades, Mao had been revered as the infallible "Great Helmsman" and "Great Leader." But Mao's mystique had been fading since his death in September 1976 at the age of 82.

Over the years, through official pronouncements, books, and media accounts, Mao's human frailties and mistakes have been pointed out, casting aside the nurtured belief of his infallibility.

Many books have been published, in and out of China, criticizing Mao and his policies.

Officially, Mao is considered 70% correct and 30% wrong.

"He is credited for the Liberation (in 1949) and is blamed for the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution," said the retired cadre.

Yi Shunhan, 38, is not impressed with the Mao anniversary.

"I don't really care about it. It doesn't have much impact in my life. I personally think his faults outweigh his achievements," he said, citing the Cultural Revolution, famine, and lag in technology development as Mao's personal failures.

"The Great Leap Forward was one of his biggest failures," he added. "How many people died of that?"

The Great Leap Forward, launched by Mao in 1958, was intended to skip several stages in building a new communist China and catch up with Britain's economy in 15 years. But it led to economic recession, poor harvests and widespread famine in which tens of millions of people died.

The Mao-initiated Cultural Revolution swept China from 1966-76, pushing "class struggle" to get rid of old institutions and Mao's political enemies. The political movement careened out of control, led to massive political purges, deaths and destruction.

Chinese leaders who took power after Mao have reversed many of his policies. Instead of pursuing "class struggle," they are now pushing for modernization, reform and opening up.

Mao's pedestal may have been lowered. His once ubiquitous visage is now relegated as just one of the iconic images on T-shirts and posters, along with those of Che Guevarra, Hello Kitty and the Giant Panda.

Still, The Global Times, an official state newspaper, called attempts to negate Mao as "childish wishful thinking," citing that Chinese people today still live under the great impact of Mao.

Mao's fading image endures, because it remains a part of the glue that holds the Communist nation together.

"Hunan people still admire and respect Chairman Mao," said the retired cadre from Mao's birthplace.

Bai Yan, 28, sees a need to remember Mao. "It's an opportunity to learn about him and Chinese history. It's an opportunity for young people to learn about what took place in China in the past."